Inhibition of protein kinase II (CK2) prevents induced signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 1/3 and constitutive STAT3 activation

// Samadhi Aparicio-Siegmund 1 , Jan Sommer 1 , Niloufar Monhasery 1 , Ralf Schwanbeck 2 , Eric Keil 3 , David Finkenstädt 3 , Klaus Pfeffer 3 , Stefan Rose-John 2 , Jürgen Scheller 1 and Christoph Garbers 1,4 1 Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany; 2 Institute of Biochemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany; 3 Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hospital Hygiene, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany 4 Present address: Institute of Biochemistry, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany Correspondence: Jürgen Scheller, email: // Christoph Garbers, email: // Keywords : STAT3, cytokines, tumor, oncogene, signal transduction Received : February 11, 2014 Accepted : March 22, 2014 Published : March 23, 2014 Abstract The Janus kinase / signal transducer and activator of transcription (Jak/STAT) pathway can be activated by many different cytokines, among them all members of the Interleukin (IL-)6 family. Dysregulation of this pathway, resulting in its constitutive activation, is associated with chronic inflammation and cancer development. In the present study, we show that activity of protein kinase II (CK2), a ubiquitously expressed serine/threonine kinase, is needed for induced activation of STAT1 and STAT3 by IL-6 classic and trans-signaling, IL-11, IL-27, oncostatin M (OSM), leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1). Inhibition of CK2 efficiently prevented STAT phosphorylation and inhibited cytokine-dependent cell proliferation in a Jak1-dependent manner. Conversely, forced activation of CK2 alone was not sufficient to induce activation of the Jak/STAT signaling pathway. Inhibition of CK2 in turn inhibited Jak1-dependent STAT activation by oncogenic gp130 mutations. Furthermore, CK2 inhibition diminished the Jak1- and Src kinase-dependent phosphorylation of a constitutively active STAT3 mutant recently described in human large granular lymphocytic leukemia. In conclusion, we characterize CK2 as an essential component of the Jak/STAT pathway. Pharmacologic inhibition of this kinase is therefore a promising strategy to treat human inflammatory diseases and malignancies associated with constitutive activation of the Jak/STAT pathway.